Apparatus, method and storage medium for storing program for printing an image according to an appropriate print setting

ABSTRACT

On the basis of information indicating a recommended print setting that corresponds to a content, a display device is controlled to display, in a distinguishable manner, the recommended print setting that corresponds to a content to be printed and a print setting different from the recommended print setting. Also, according to the print setting designated by the user, an image based on the content is printed by a printing device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus that causes a printingdevice to print an image, a method, and a storage medium for storing aprogram.

2. Description of the Related Art

A multifunctional peripheral (hereinafter, referred to as an MFP) thatis provided with a printer function, a scanning function, a card slotfunction, a fax function, and a network function is generally known. Asone function of an MFP, there is a function of obtaining variouscontents (for example, writing paper, graph paper, check list, staffnotation, manuscript paper, and seasonal contents suitable forHalloween, Christmas and the like) via a network and printing thecontents. This function enables a user, with respect to a contentobtained by the MFP via a network, to set on a user interface screen ofthe MFP the size, the type, and the like of paper on which the contentis to be printed, and to print the content. At this time, print settingoptions available to the user may include many print settings that arehardly likely to be used, causing a reduction in user-friendliness.Here, “print settings that are hardly likely to be used” refer toprinting of split memos with frames on L size paper, printing ofcontents with ruled lines on premium photo paper, and the like. That is,it is desirable to be able to restrict display of print settings thatare hardly likely to be used.

As a method for providing a user with recommended print settingsintended by a content creator, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-235466teaches having a database in which a print purpose (presentation,handout, a support documentation, and the like) is set for each contentand a database in which the print purposes are associated withrecommended print settings. It is also disclosed that when a user printsa content, a print purpose of the content and recommended print settingsassociated with the print purpose are acquired from the databases, andare displayed on a user interface screen.

However, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-235466, since therecommended print settings that correspond to each content are notdisplayed, it may not be possible to perform printing with appropriateprint settings for the content.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentionedproblems with the conventional technology. The present inventionprovides an apparatus that can perform printing of an image according toappropriate print settings, a method, and a storage medium for storing aprogram.

The present invention in its first aspect provides an apparatuscomprising: a selection unit configured to select a content to beprinted from a plurality of contents according to an instruction of auser; an acquisition unit configured to acquire information indicatingrecommended print setting that corresponds to the content selected bythe selecting unit; a display control unit configured to control adisplay device to display, based on the information acquired by theacquisition unit, the recommended print setting that is indicated by theinformation and corresponds to the content selected by the selectionunit, and a print setting different from the recommended print setting,in a distinguishable manner; and a print control unit configured tocontrol a printing device to print an image based on the contentselected by the selection unit, according to print setting designated bythe user among the recommended print setting and the print settingdifferent from the recommended print setting that are displayed by thedisplay control unit.

According to the present invention, it is possible to print an imageaccording to appropriate print settings.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a web service system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration of an MFP.

FIG. 3 illustrates a functional configuration of an application of arelay server.

FIG. 4 illustrates a list of APIs between the MFP and the relay server.

FIG. 5 illustrates a data management configuration of a contentproviding site.

FIG. 6 illustrates information to be set for categories.

FIG. 7 illustrates information to be set for contents.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow of processing at the time of executing acondition check.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow of processing for acquiring and displayingcategory information.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow of processing from after specifying acategory until printing of a print image.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate procedures of print setting processing.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen notifying that recommended settings areinitially displayed.

FIG. 13 illustrates a print setting screen.

FIG. 14 illustrates print settings executable by the MFP.

FIG. 15 illustrates a print setting screen on which an error isadditionally displayed.

FIG. 16 illustrates a screen warning that printing is not possible withthe current print settings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be describedhereinafter in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Itis to be understood that the following embodiments are not intended tolimit the claims of the present invention, and that not all of thecombinations of the aspects that are described according to thefollowing embodiments are necessarily required with respect to the meansto solve the problems according to the present invention. Note that thesame reference numerals are given to the same constituent components,and descriptions thereof are omitted.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a web service system (printsystem) according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, amultifunctional peripheral (MFP) 101 serving as a client apparatus isconnected to a web server 103 via a network 110 such as the Internet.The server is a server that provides the client apparatus with, forexample, a photo sharing site function, and hereinafter the web server103 is also referred to as the site 103. The MFP 101 is a system foracquiring content information that includes URLs and the like ofcontents (image data) that are classified according to categories fromthe content providing site 103 via a relay server 102. The MFP 101displays a selection screen for selecting a category/content from theinformation that is acquired from the content providing site 103 withoutmediating a PC, and after a content to be printed has been selected by auser, acquires image data of the content from the content providing site103 and executes printing of the image data.

FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration of the MFP 101. The MFP 101includes an operation unit 201 such as keys or a touch panel, a cardinterface 202, a reading unit 208, and a printing unit 209. The MFP 101also includes a CPU 200, a ROM 203, a RAM 204, a nonvolatile RAM 205, adisplay unit 206, an image processing unit 210, acompression/decompression unit 211, a drive unit 212, and a sensor unit213. The CPU 200 performs overall control of the MFP 101, and executes aprogram stored in the ROM 203 in accordance with a user operation inputvia the operation unit 201, for example. The ROM 203 stores a controlcommand program for the MFP 101, and the like. Also, the MFP 101includes a wireless network unit 207, a wired network unit 214, and asettings acquisition unit 215. The wireless network unit 207 is capableof wirelessly communicating with a wireless LAN access point that iscompatible with a standard such as IEEE 802.11a. The wired network unit214 includes an Ethernet (registered trademark) connector to which atwisted pair cable such as 100Base-TX is connectable. Using the wirelessnetwork unit 207 or the wired network unit 214, the MFP 101 is capableof communicating with other devices that are connected to the Internetwith a TCP/IP protocol. Also, the MFP 101 includes the settingsacquisition unit 215. The settings acquisition unit 215 can acquireinformation from the ROM 203, the RAM 204, the nonvolatile RAM 205, andthe like of the MFP 101.

The relay server 102 and the site 103 shown in FIG. 1 employ aconfiguration of an information processing apparatus such as ageneral-purpose PC. That is, the relay server 102 and the site 103 eachgenerally includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, a display unit such as adisplay, and an input unit such as a pointing device or a keyboard. Forexample, the CPU deploys on the RAM a program that was read out from thehard disk, the ROM, or the like, and executes the program. The HDDstores programs for executing processing shown by flowcharts, and imagedata. The display can display a user interface or the like, and byoperating the user interface using the pointing device, the keyboard, orthe like, the user can input various types of instructions.

FIG. 3 illustrates a functional configuration of an application of therelay server 102. The relay server 102 is a server that has, as a mainfunction, an API conversion function to mediate information acquisitionbetween the MFP 101 and, for example, the content providing site 103that provides a content providing function as a web application server.The server employs, as a hardware configuration, a configuration of ageneral-purpose web server. The relay server 102 functions as a webserver in its relationship with the MFP 101, and functions as a clientin its relationship with the content providing site 103. The mainfunction of the relay server 102 is the API conversion function toacquire information, that is, a category list and a content list, fromthe content providing site 103 in accordance with “MFP-API” requestsdefined between the relay server 102 and the MFP 101.

FIG. 4 is a diagram in which “MFP-APIs”, which are APIs between the MFP101 and the relay server 102, are associated with information that isacquired by the relay server 102 in response to the correspondingrequest. The MFP 101 has multiple functions such as a printing function,a scanning function, and a copy function. Also, the MFP 101 has anetwork communication function and is configured to be compatible withAPIs of the relay server. Instead of being compatible with an API ofeach site, the MFP 101 issues a request to the relay server 102 via theAPI with the relay server 102 using HTTP POST communication, in order toacquire information on the site. Here, the APIs between the relay server102 and the MFP 101 are defined as follows:

-   -   API-R1 (condition check): a function to confirm on the basis of        a model name, destination information, and an IP address of the        MFP 101 whether or not a service can be received;    -   API-R5 (category list request): a function to acquire        information on all categories; and    -   API-R6 (content list request): a function to acquire information        on contents registered in the categories.

The MFP 101 can receive an information list (category list, contentlist) requested of the content providing site 103 from the relay server102. By designating a URL of a display image from a relevant section ofthe received information list, it is possible to acquire display imagedata. Therefore, the MFP 101 acquires the information list via the relayserver 102, and acquires data that can be directly acquired bydesignating a URL, such as image data, directly from the contentproviding site 103.

When the MFP 101 issues a condition check request API-R1 to the relayserver 102, the relay server 102 determines, using a later-describedcheck function, whether or not the content providing function issupported, and returns a result of the determination to the MFP 101.Also, when the MFP 101 issues a category list request API-R5 to therelay server 102, the relay server 102 acquires a category list from thecontent providing site 103, filters the category list using alater-described filter function, and returns a result of the filteringto the MFP. Similarly, when the MFP 101 issues a content list requestAPI-R6 to the relay server 102, the relay server 102 acquires a contentlist from the content providing site 103, and returns a result offiltering using the later-described filter function to the MFP.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the relay server 102 additionally has thefollowing functions:

Parser function: to interpret a category list and a content list thatare uniquely defined pieces of information, using parsers appropriatefor the respective lists. For example, if the list is described withXML, an XML parser is needed.

Filter function: to specify data to be transmitted to the MFP 101, amongdata acquired from the content providing site 103, and to delete dataother than the specified data. Examples of data that is not to betransmitted to the MFP 101 include contents whose validity has expired,files having file formats other than those designated by the MFP 101,and image data having a file size greater than an upper limit.

Check function: to check, in response to the condition check requestfrom the MFP 101, whether or not the MFP 101 can connect to the contentproviding site 103 on the basis of a model name, destination informationand an IP address of the MFP 101, and information to be transmitted.

Cache function: if a category list or a content list is requested of thecontent providing site 103 every time a request is received from the MFP101, the load on the content providing site 103 will increase.Therefore, by caching a category list or a content list that has alreadybeen acquired, it is possible to reduce the load on the contentproviding site 103 and to increase the response speed to the categorylist request API-R5 or the content list request API-R6.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a data management configuration of thecontent providing site 103, which is a web application server. Asillustrated in FIG. 5, two categories, three contents, one categorylist, and one content list are managed. Also, each category holds adisplay image for selecting the category. Also, each content holds atleast one display image and one print image. Each content includes up tonine print images, i.e., an A4 borderless image, an LTR borderlessimage, an L size borderless image, a 4×6 borderless image, an A4 borderimage, an LTR border image, an L size border image, a 4×6 border image,and a B5 border image. Also, the category list and the content list eachhave, for example, one XML file. The category list and the content listmay each have a format other than XML.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of information to be set for categories.Each category holds information on a target device in which the categoryis available, and information on provision start and end dates of theavailable category. For example, a category B indicates that thecategory is available to MFPs of models 1 and 2 only during the periodfrom Apr. 1, 2011 to Jan. 1, 2012. Also, the category list of FIG. 6includes URLs (not shown) of display images for the respectivecategories. For example, a category A includes a URL of a display imageA in FIG. 5, and the category B includes a URL of a display image B inFIG. 5. The category list in which these pieces of information are heldtogether is stored in the content providing site 103.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of information to be set for contents.Each content holds information on a target device in which the contentis available, information on provision start and end dates of theavailable content, and information on the target category, recommendedprint settings, and available print setting options. For example, acontent 2 indicates that it is available to the MFPs of the models 1 and2 only during the period from Apr. 1, 2011 to Oct. 1, 2011. Also, sincethe content 2 only supports the category B, display and printing areonly possible if the category B is selected in later-described categoryselection processing in the MFP 101. Also, since information onrecommended print settings indicates “L size/4×6”, “photo paper”, and“borderless”, these values are initially displayed as print settings onthe display unit 206 at the time of a later-described print instructionin the MFP 101. Although with respect to the paper size, a plurality ofpieces of information, that is, L size and 4×6, are indicated, which oneis to be defined as a recommended setting will be described later. Also,information on available print setting options indicates “OK” only withrespect to “L size borderless”, “4×6 borderless”, “L size border”, and“4×6 border”. This means that in the later-described print instructionin the MFP 101, only these values are available for printing.

Also, the content list of FIG. 7 includes URLs (not shown) of displayimages for the respective contents. For example, the content 2 includesa URL of a display image 20 in FIG. 5. Also, the content list includesURLs (not shown) of print images of print settings that indicate “OK” ininformation on the available print setting options in FIG. 7. Forexample, the content 2 includes URLs of an L size borderless image 23, a4×6 borderless image 24, an L size border image 27, and a 4×6 borderimage 28. In this case, each available print setting option may includea URL, each paper size may share a common URL, or all the options mayinclude a common URL. For example, A4 size and B5 size that have thesame aspect ratio can use a common image since the image can be scaledand printed in the MFP 101. As a result, it is possible to reduce theload of content creation in the content providing site 103 and thecapacity for holding contents. The content list in which these pieces ofinformation are held together is stored in the content providing site103.

As described above, a user can select one category in the MFP 101, andthen browse and print at least one image registered in the selectedcategory. Also, since each content can belong to a plurality ofcategories, the same content, e.g., the content 3, can be displayed in aplurality of categories.

In the present embodiment, the MFP 101 first executes a condition checkand determines whether or not it is possible to connect to the contentproviding site 103. Then, in order to specify data desired to beprinted, category information is acquired, and a desired category isselected. A content that is registered in the desired category isspecified, print data thereof is acquired, and the acquired print datais printed. This is a flow of processing. The flow of processing isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 8, 9, and 10.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow of processing at the time of executing acondition check. Upon receipt of a condition check request of “API-R1”from the MFP 101 (S801), the relay server 102 performs determinationprocessing (S802). The relay server 102 compares, using the checkfunction, pieces of information on a model name, a destination, an IPaddress, and the like that is transmitted from the MFP 101 withrestriction information of the content providing site 103 that is storedin advance in the relay server 102. Then, the relay server 102determines whether or not the MFP is an MFP that is connectable to thecontent providing site 103, and returns a result of the condition checkto the MFP 101 (S803).

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow of processing for acquiring categoryinformation and displaying the acquired category information. Uponreceipt of an “API-R5” category list request from the MFP 101 (S901),the relay server 102 issues a category list request to the contentproviding site 103 (S902). Then, the relay server 102 acquires acategory list (S903). Although, in the present embodiment, the categorylist is acquired from the content providing site 103, it is alsopossible to use cache information that is stored in the relay server 102with the use of the cache function of the relay server 102.Subsequently, the relay server 102 parses, using the parser function,the category list among the information on the MFP 101 acquired by the“API-R5”, the category list acquired from the content providing site103, and date information of the relay server, and performs processingfor filtering categories (S904).

For example, assuming that the MFP 101 is the model 1, and the dateindicated by the date information of the relay server 102 is Aug. 1,2011, only category B is extracted because the date is after theprovision end date of the category A. Also, for example, assuming thatthe MFP 101 is the model 3, and the date indicated by the dateinformation of the relay server 102 is May 1, 2011, the date of therelay server 102 is included between the provision start date and theprovision end date for both categories A and B. However, the category Bdoes not support the model 3, and thus only the category A is extracted.Also, for example, assuming that the MFP 101 is the model 2, and thedate of the relay server 102 is May 1, 2011, the date of the relayserver 102 is included between the provision start date and theprovision end date for both categories A and B. Therefore, thecategories A and B are extracted.

Then, the relay server 102 returns a category list as a result of thefiltering processing to the MFP 101 (S905). In order to display acategory display image for category selection on the display unit of themain body, the MFP 101 issues, to the content providing site 103, anHTTP Get request with respect to display image data of a category thatis designated by the user on the basis of the received categoryinformation list (S906). Then, the MFP 101 acquires the display imagedata (S907), and displays the category image for selection on the mainbody. For example, if the user selects the category B in FIG. 6, the MFP101 acquires the display image B in FIG. 5. Every time the MFP 101switches and displays a category for category selection by the user, theMFP 101 acquires a display image designated by the user, as in stepsS906 and S907. This acquisition is repeatedly performed on the basis ofthe URL of the display image data that is described in the category listacquired in step S905. Finally, category selection is performedaccording to an instruction by the user (S908).

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow of processing from after specifying acategory, browsing of content information in the category to specifyingand printing a print image. Upon receipt of an “API-R6” content listrequest from the MFP 101 (S1001), the relay server 102 issues a contentlist request to the content providing site 103 (S1002). Then, the relayserver 102 acquires a content list (S1003). Although, in the presentembodiment, the content list is acquired from the content providing site103, it is also possible to use the cache information that is stored inthe relay server 102 using the cache function of the relay server 102.Subsequently, the relay server 102 parses, using the parser function,the content list among the information on the MFP 101 acquired by the“API-R6”, the content list acquired from the content providing site 103,and date information of the relay server, and performs processing forfiltering contents (S1004).

For example, assuming that the MFP 101 is the model 1, and the dates ofthe relay server 102 is Aug. 1, 2011, only the category B is extractedin the filtering processing in step S904 in FIG. 9. In this case, themodel 1 supports all the contents, the category B supports the contents2 and 3, and the contents 2 and 3 meet conditions of the expiration dateindicated by the provision start date and the provision end date.Therefore, if the user selects the category B, the contents 2 and 3 areextracted.

Also, for example, assuming that the MFP 101 is the model 3, and thedates of the relay server 102 is May 1, 2011, only the category A isextracted in the filtering processing in step S904 in FIG. 9. In thiscase, the model 3 only supports a content 1, the category A supports thecontent 1 and a content 3, and the contents 1 and 3 meet conditions ofexpiration date indicated by the provision start date and the provisionend date. Therefore, if the user selects the category A, the content 1is extracted.

Also, for example, assuming that the MFP 101 is the model 2, and thedates of the relay server 102 is May 1, 2011, the categories A and B areextracted in the filtering processing in step S904 in FIG. 9. In thiscase, the model 2 supports all the contents that meet the conditions ofthe expiration date indicated by the provision start date and theprovision end date. Therefore, if the user selects the category A, thecontents 1 and 3 are extracted, and if the user selects the category B,the contents 2 and 3 are extracted.

Then, the relay server 102 returns a content list as a result of thefiltering processing to the MFP 101 (S1005). In order to display acontent display image for content selection on the display unit of themain body, the MFP 101 issues, to the content providing site 103, anHTTP Get request with respect to display image data of a content to beprinted that is designated on this list on the basis of the receivedcontent list (S1006). Then, the MFP 101 acquires the display image data(S1007), and displays the content image for selection on the main body.For example, if the user selects the content 2 in FIG. 7, the MFP 101acquires the display image 20 in FIG. 5. Every time the MFP 101 switchesand displays a content for selection, the MFP 101 repeatedly performsthe acquisition on the basis of the URL of the display image datadescribed in the content list that was previously acquired.

Finally, when a content desired to be printed is specified by the user,the user instructs print command to execute printing processing in theMFP 101 (S1008). Execution of printing processing after havinginstructed the print command will be described later. Thereafter, on thebasis of print settings selected by the user, the MFP 101 issues an HTTPGet request to the content providing site 103 in order to acquire thedesignated print image data (S1009), and acquires print image data fromthe content providing site 103 (S1010). For example, if the user selectsthe content 2 in FIG. 7, and selects, as print settings, an L size forthe paper size and borderless, the MFP 101 acquires the L sizeborderless image 23 in FIG. 5. Finally, the MFP 101 deploys the acquiredprint image data and executes printing thereof (S1011).

FIGS. 11A and 11B are flowcharts illustrating procedures of printsetting processing at the time of instructing to print a content desiredto be printed, after the user has decided the content in step S1008 inFIG. 10. The processing shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B are executed by theCPU 200, for example. Since the content list acquired by the MFP 101 instep S1005 includes information on recommended print settings shown inFIG. 7 and print setting options applicable to the content, the CPU 200acquires, in step S1101, the information that corresponds to the contentselected by the user from the content list.

Next, in step S1102, the CPU 200 determines whether or not a pluralityof options are set for each item of the recommended print settingsacquired in step S1101. For example, if the content selected by the useris the content 1 in FIG. 7, the recommended print settings thereofindicate “A4/LTR” as the paper size, so it is determined that aplurality of options are set, and the processing advances to step S1103.Also, if the content selected by the user is the content 2 in FIG. 7,the recommended print settings thereof indicate “L size/4×6” as thepaper size, so it is determined that a plurality of options are set, andprocessing advances to step S1103. On the other hand, if the contentselected by the user is the content 3 in FIG. 7, each item of therecommended print settings thereof indicates only one option, andtherefore the processing advances to step S1104.

In step S1103, on the basis of the recommended print settings andinformation acquired by the settings acquisition unit 215 of the MFP101, the CPU 200 decides the most appropriate recommended print setting.For example, when a plurality of options are set for the paper size ofthe recommended print settings, destination information of the MFP 101is acquired by the settings acquisition unit 215. If the destinationinformation indicates “Japan”, the recommended print setting is set to“A4” or “L size”, and if the destination information indicates otherthan “Japan”, the recommended print setting is set to “LTR” or “4×6”. Inthe case of the content 1 in FIG. 7, if the destination setting is“Japan”, the paper size of the recommended print setting is decided tobe “A4”, and if the destination setting is other than “Japan”, the papersize of the recommended print setting is decided to be “LTR”. Also, inthe case of the content 2 of FIG. 7, if the destination informationindicates “Japan”, the paper size of the recommended print setting isdecided to be “L size” and if the destination information indicatesother than “Japan”, the paper size of the recommended print setting isdecided to be “4×6”.

Here, as a method for deciding the most appropriate recommended printsetting, another method than the method using the destination setting ofthe MFP 101 may be used. For example, a language setting of the MFP 101may be acquired by the settings acquisition unit 215, and thereby themost appropriate recommended print setting may be decided.Alternatively, position information of the MFP 101 via a GPS module unit(not shown) may be acquired by the settings acquisition unit 215, andthereby the most appropriate recommended print setting may be decided.Alternatively, an IP address held in the wireless network unit 207 orthe wired network unit 214 may be acquired by the settings acquisitionunit 215 so that position information that is derived from the IPaddress is acquired, and the most appropriate recommended print settingmay be decided using the position information. Alternatively, paperinformation stored in a paper feed tray from a paper feed tray unit (notshown) may be acquired by the settings acquisition unit 215, and therebythe most appropriate recommended print setting may be decided.

In the method for deciding a recommended print setting using theinformation acquired by the settings acquisition unit 215, if, forexample, a language setting or position information is acquired, and ifthe language setting is “Japanese” or the position information indicates“Japan”, items of the recommended print settings are decided such thatthe paper size is “A4” or “L size”, the paper type is “photo paper”, andthe border setting is “borderless”. Also, if the language setting isother than “Japanese” or the position information is other than “Japan”,items of the recommended print settings are decided such that the papersize is “LTR” or “4×6”, the paper type is “plain paper”, and bordersetting is “border”. Also, if paper information is acquired, recommendedprint settings are decided, placing priority on the paper information onpaper in the paper feed tray. In the above-described example, althoughonly one piece of information that is acquired by the settingsacquisition unit 215 is used, the recommended print settings may bedecided by using destination information, language information, positioninformation, and paper feed tray information in combination. Also, inthe method for deciding recommended print settings using informationacquired by the settings acquisition unit 215, instead of theclassification into “Japan” and other than “Japan”, more detailedclassification may be used.

Next, in step S1104, the CPU 200 notifies the user that print settingsto be initially displayed on the display unit 206 are recommended printsettings for each content. A notification screen will be described laterwith reference to FIG. 12. In step S1105, the CPU 200 displays on thedisplay unit 206 a print setting screen in which recommended settingsfor the content selected by the user are set as print settings. Theprint setting screen will be described later with reference to FIG. 13.

Next, in step S1106, the CPU 200 determines whether or not a useroperation using the operation unit 201 was performed. The user operationrefers to a change instruction to change from the recommended printsettings decided in step S1103 to print setting options that areexecutable in the MFP 101 and stored in the ROM 203 or a print startinstruction. The change instruction to change to the print settingoptions executable in the MFP 101 will be described later with referenceto FIG. 14. If the user operation is a print setting change instruction,the processing advances to step S1107, and if the user operation is aprint start instruction, the processing advances to step S1111.Alternatively, if it is determined that a user operation was notperformed, the processing in step S1106 is repeated until it isdetermined that either one of the user operations was performed.

In step S1107, when the user instructs to change print settings, the CPU200 determines whether or not a combination of print settings is arestricted combination with respect to which printing using thecombination is restricted. The determination is executed by referencingprint setting information stored in advance in a memory, e.g., thenonvolatile RAM 205 provided in the MFP 101. Specifically, a memoryprovided in the MFP 101 stores information that indicates combinationsof print settings settable in the MFP 101. In step S1107, if thecombination of print settings that was changed by the user does notcorrespond to any of combinations stored in the memory of the MFP 101,the combination is determined to be a restricted combination. Examplesof restricted combinations include “B5 size, borderless” and “A4 size,borderless”.

On a screen shown in FIG. 13, the user selects, using the operation unit201, an item that he or she wants to change, among the paper size, thepaper type, border setting. On the screen shown in FIG. 13, “paper size:LTR”, “paper type: plain paper”, “border setting: border” are set asrecommended print settings. In step S1105, the screen shown in FIG. 13is displayed. The user can change, in accordance with left and rightarrows, the recommended print settings displayed in FIG. 13 to printsettings that are executable by the MFP 101, the print settings beingstored in the ROM 203 shown in FIG. 14. For example, if the user changesthe paper size using the operation unit 1001, “A4”, “LTR”, “B5”, “Lsize”, and “4×6” are displayed one by one in order, and the user canchange “LTR” that is displayed as the current paper size. Alternatively,a configuration is also possible in which all the options of “A4”,“LTR”, “B5”, “L size” and “4×6” are displayed at once, and the userselects a desired paper size among them.

Then, the CPU 200 determines whether or not a combination of printsettings designated by the user on the screen in FIG. 13 is a restrictedcombination, and if the combination of print settings is determined tobe a restricted combination, the processing advances to step S1110. Onthe other hand, if the combination designated by the user is determinednot to be a restricted combination, the processing advances to stepS1108. Here, examples of restricted combinations include “B5,borderless” that is a combination of the paper size and the bordersetting, and “plain paper, borderless” that is a combination of thepaper type and the border setting. For example, assuming that a contentselected by the user is the content 1 in FIG. 7 and the user changes theborder setting from “border” to “borderless”, the combination is“A4/LTR, plain paper, borderless”. This combination does not correspondto any of the combinations that permit printing in the MFP 101 and arestored in the memory provided in the MFP 101, and therefore isdetermined to be a restricted combination.

In step S1108, the CPU 200 determines whether or not the print settingschanged by the user are appropriate for the applicable print settingoptions acquired from the content list. If it is determined that theprint settings are appropriate, the processing advances to step S1109,and if it is determined that the print settings are not appropriate, theprocessing advances to step S1110. For example, if a content selected bythe user is the content 1 in FIG. 7 and the user changes the paper sizefrom LTR to A4 or B5 without changing “border setting” from “border”,that option is “OK”, so it is determined that the print settings areappropriate. On the other hand, if the user changes the paper size from“LTR” to “L size/4×6”, that option is “NA”, so it is determined that theprint settings are not appropriate. Next, in step S1109, the printsetting change by the user is assumed to normally be completed, and theprocessing advances to step S1106. On the other hand, in step S1110, anerror is displayed on the print setting screen, and the processingadvances to step S1106. An error screen will be described later withreference to FIG. 15.

Step S1106 is referred to again. If, in step S1106, the user operationis a print start instruction, the CPU 200 determines in step S1111,whether or not the combination of print settings when the userinstructed to start printing is compatible with the MFP 101. Theprocessing in step S1111 is the same as in step S1107. Here, if thecombination of print settings when the user instructed to start printingis determined to be a restricted combination, the processing advances tostep S1113. On the other hand, if the combination of print settings whenthe user instructed to start printing is a combination compatible withthe MFP 101, the processing advances to step S1112.

In step S1112, the CPU 200 determines whether or not the print settingswhen the user instructed to start printing are appropriate for theapplicable print setting options acquired from the content list. Theprocessing in step S1112 is the same as that in step S1108. Here, if itis determined that the print settings are not appropriate for theapplicable print setting options, the processing advances to step S1113.On the other hand, if it is determined that the print settings areappropriate for the applicable print setting options, the processing inFIGS. 11A and 11B end and advance to step S1009 to issue an HTTP GETrequest in order to acquire the designated print image data. In stepS1113, the CPU 200 displays an error in order to notify the user thatprinting is not possible due to the print settings, and the processingadvances to step S1106. An error display screen will be described laterwith reference to FIG. 16. As described above, according to theprocessing shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, a combination of print settingsthat is recommended for the content selected by the user as a printtarget is displayed on a display screen. Also, in the case where theuser changes the print settings, if the changed combination is subjectto restriction or is not appropriate for the content of the printtarget, an error is displayed, so the user can easily designateappropriate print settings. Note that in FIGS. 11A and 11B, display ofan error with respect to print settings is performed by referencing theprint setting information stored in advance in the memory provided inthe MFP 101 and the content list acquired in step S1101. That is, if acombination of print settings selected by the user corresponds to eithera restricted combination set with respect to the MFP 101 or a restrictedcombination set with respect to the content, printing is thenrestricted. Therefore, even if the print settings selected by the userare appropriate for one of the MFP 101 and the content but are notappropriate for the other, printing can be appropriately restricted.Also, FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an example in which similar errordisplay is performed in step S1110, regardless of whether the errordisplay is performed on the basis of the determination result in stepS1107 or S1108. However, the error display is not limited to this, anderror display may be performed differently depending on whether it isperformed on the basis of the determination result in step S1107 or stepS1108. This makes it possible to notify the user whether print settingsselected by the user are not appropriate for the MFP 101 or for thecontent. In this case, the determination processing in step S1108 isperformed regardless of the determination result in step S1107. If it isdetermined in both steps S1107 and S1108 that print settings are notappropriate, error display may be performed to notify that printsettings selected by the user are not appropriate for both the MFP 101and the content.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen that is displayed on the display unit 206to notify the user in step S1104 that the print settings that areinitially displayed are recommended settings for each content.Conventionally, with other functions such as a copy function of the MFP101, print settings used last time by the user are generally stored inthe nonvolatile RAM 204, so this screen notifies the user so as to notperform printing erroneously with the previous settings.

FIG. 13 illustrates a change reception screen for receiving changes ofthe recommended print settings by the user. In particular, FIG. 13illustrates a print setting screen when, in step S1105, the contentselected by the user is the content 1 in FIG. 7 in the case of thedestination setting of the MFP 101 is other than “Japan”. FIG. 13illustrates a screen in which the recommended print settings that areinitially displayed, as the most appropriate recommended print settingsof the content 1 decided in step S1103, are “LTR” as the paper size,“plain paper” as the paper type, and “border” as the border setting.

By operating the operation unit 201, the user can select setting items(“paper size”, “paper type” and “border setting”) of the print settingson the screen shown in FIG. 13, and select setting details of theselected setting items. If the operation unit 201 includes keyscorresponding to up/down and left/right, the user can select settingitems by pressing the up/down keys, and select setting details bypressing the left/right keys. If the operation unit 201 includes a touchpanel, the user selects setting items by a flick operation in a verticaldirection, and select setting details by a flick operation in a lateraldirection. If the operation unit 201 includes a touch panel, anothermethod may be employed in which when the user touches displayedpositions of the setting items, setting content candidates included inthese setting items are displayed, and the user can select a settingcontent from the setting content candidates.

FIG. 14 illustrates a list of print settings executable in the device ofthe MFP 101, the list being stored in the ROM 203. On the basis of thelist of FIG. 14, the CPU 200 performs control to display “A4, LTR, B5, Lsize, 4×6” as the paper size, “plain paper, matte paper, photo paper,semi gloss paper” as the paper type, “border, borderless” as the bordersetting, as illustrated in FIG. 13, so that the user can change thesettings.

FIG. 15 is the print setting screen in step S1110 on which an error isdisplayed. In FIG. 15, “4×6”, “plain paper”, and “border” for thecontent 1 are displayed. However, since the items of “4×6, border” arenot recommended print settings and are also set to “NA” in applicableprint setting options, the combination of print settings is determinedto be inappropriate. Therefore, “!” is displayed in the place of thepaper size. In this case, the print settings will be applicable if theuser changes the paper size.

FIG. 16 illustrates a warning screen in step S1113 displaying a warningthat the user cannot perform printing with the current print settingssince the print settings are subject to restriction.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the MFP 101 acquires fromthe relay server 102 recommended print settings and applicable printsetting options for each content, and determines, by combining them withexecutable print settings stored in the MFP 101, whether or not printingis possible. As a result, the recommended print settings for eachcontent can be directly set easily and the user can be notified ofrecommended print settings intended by the content creator. Also, byrestricting the print settings that are selectable for each content to apredetermined range, it is possible to reduce the images to be preparedfor each content so as to ease the load of content creation or to reducethe capacity of a server. Also, by restricting the print settings thatare selectable for each content, it is possible to improve useroperationality of print setting.

Although the present embodiment has described taking the systemconstituted by the MFP 101, the relay server 102, and the contentproviding site 103 as an example, the system is not limited to thisconfiguration. A configuration without the relay server 102 is alsopossible by all the procedures performed in the relay server 102 beingperformed in the MFP 101 and/or the content providing site 103, or in aserver (not shown), a second MFP, or a PC connected to the MFP 101.

Also, in the present embodiment, an example of data management in thecontent providing site 103 has been described in detail with referenceto FIG. 5, an example of information set for each content has beendescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 7, and print instructionprocessing after the user has decided a content desired to be printedhas been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B.However, the present invention is these examples are not limited to theexamples given in the drawings and flowcharts.

Also, the content list may not necessarily include recommended printsettings. In this case, before step S1102, it is determined whether ornot there is information on recommended print settings in the contentlist, and if it is determined that there is such information, theprocessing in step S1102 is performed. On the other hand, if it isdetermined that there is no such information, print settings that wereused at the time of the previous printing and stored in the nonvolatileRAM 205 are adopted as recommended settings, and the processing advancesto step S1105 without displaying the screen of FIG. 12.

Also, the print settings used at the time of the previous printing maybe stored in the nonvolatile RAM 205, and before step S1104, it may bedetermined whether or not the stored print settings and the recommendedsettings are the same. If the stored print settings and the recommendedsettings are determined to be the same, the processing may advance tostep S1105, omitting step S1104. Also, in step S1105, recommended printsettings may not automatically be set as print setting to be initiallydisplayed, and the user may be asked whether or not the print settingthat are initially displayed should be set as recommended printsettings. In this case, instead of the processing in step S1104, ascreen for asking the user is displayed. Then, according to a selectionresult of the user, it is decided whether the print settings that areinitially displayed or the previous print settings stored in thenonvolatile RAM 205 are to be set as recommended print settings.Further, it is determined whether or not the recommended print settingsare specified print settings, and if the recommended print settings aredetermined to be specified print settings, it is not necessary to askthe user. For example, if information on the size and type of paper inthe paper feed tray can be acquired, and values of the paper size andpaper type of the recommended print settings are equivalent to those ofthe paper in the paper feed tray, the paper size and paper type areautomatically set to the print settings that are initially displayedwithout asking the user.

Also, the error screen shown in FIG. 15 is displayed in step S1110 incases such as where it is determined that a combination of printsettings is subject to restriction, but a configuration is also possiblein which a print settings option that is subject to restriction cannotbe selected when changing the print settings in step S1106. For example,assuming that in the MFP 101, printing with a combination of “A4,borderless” is restricted, if “A4” is selected as the paper size and theuser selects the setting item of “the border setting” as a target forsetting change, “borderless” is eliminated from the options. With this,it is possible to prevent the user from designating “borderless”. Notethat when “borderless” is eliminated from the options, “borderless” maybe eliminated from the display target or may be displayed, with beingdistinguished from “border”, so as to notify the user that “borderless”cannot be selected or an error occurs if “borderless” is selected. Atthis time, display may be performed such that “borderless” is restrictedsince the paper size “A4” is selected, that “borderless” can be selectedif the paper size is changed to “L size”, or the like.

Although the content list includes information on recommended printsettings and applicable print setting options, it is also possible thatthe information is acquired separately from the content list. Forexample, the information on recommended print settings and applicableprint setting options may be included in part of the display imageacquired in the display image acquisition processing in step S1007.Alternatively, the print instruction processing in step S1008 isperformed after the print image request processing in step S1009 and theprint image acquisition processing in step S1010, so that theinformation on recommended print settings and applicable print settingoptions may be included in part of the print image acquired in the printimage acquisition processing in step S1010. Alternatively, only theinformation on recommended print settings and applicable print settingoptions may be acquired separately from the relay server 102 or thecontent providing site 103.

Other Embodiments

Aspects of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of asystem or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads out andexecutes a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functionsof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method, the steps ofwhich are performed by a computer of a system or apparatus by, forexample, reading out and executing a program recorded on a memory deviceto perform the functions of the above-described embodiment(s). For thispurpose, the program is provided to the computer for example via anetwork or from a recording medium of various types serving as thememory device (e.g., computer-readable medium).

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2012-151808, filed Jul. 5, 2012, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a selection unitconfigured to select display content corresponding to a plurality ofprint images, which have been stored in a memory and correspond to printmedium sizes different from each other, from first display content andsecond display content according to an instruction of a user, whereinthe first display content corresponds to both of a plurality of firstprint images, which have been stored in the memory and correspond tofirst print medium sizes different from each other, and a firstrecommended print setting including a print medium size in the firstprint sizes, and the second display content corresponds to both of aplurality of second print images, which have been stored in the memoryand correspond to second print medium sizes different from each other,and a second recommended print setting including a print medium size inthe second print medium sizes; a display control unit configured tocontrol a display device to display, of the first recommended printsetting and the second recommended print setting, a recommended printsetting corresponding to the display content selected from the firstdisplay content and the second display content by the selection unit;and a print control unit configured to acquire a print image, among theplurality of print images corresponding to the print medium sizesdifferent from each other, corresponding to the selected display contentand a print medium size which is designated by a user in the printmedium sizes after the recommended print setting is displayed by thedisplay control unit, and to control a printing device to print theacquired print image.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprint control unit causes the printing device not to print of theplurality of images corresponding to the selected display contentaccording to a restricted print setting whose use with respect to theselected display content is restricted.
 3. The apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the display control unit controls the display device todisplay restriction information indicating that printing of a printimage corresponding to the selected display content that uses therestricted print setting is restricted.
 4. The apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein the display control unit controls the display device todisplay the restriction information upon input of a user instruction toexecute printing of a print image corresponding to the selected displaycontent using the restricted print setting.
 5. The apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein the restricted print setting is a combination of aplurality of setting items.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5,wherein the plurality of setting items include a print medium size, aprint medium type, and a border setting.
 7. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the display control unit controls the display device todisplay a recommended combination, corresponding to the selected displaycontent, of a plurality of setting items as the recommended printsetting.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the plurality ofsetting items include a print medium size, a print medium type, and aborder setting.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thedisplay control unit controls the display device to display therecommended print setting and a print setting different from therecommended print setting so as to enable the user to perform selection,and the print control unit controls the printing device to print theprint image according to a print setting selected by the user in thedisplay device from the recommended print setting and the print settingdifferent from the recommended print setting.
 10. The apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein the display control unit performs thedisplay such that the recommended print setting is preferentiallydisplayed as a candidate for selection by the user and then the printsetting different from the recommended print setting is displayed in acase where an instruction by the user is input.
 11. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises the display deviceand the printing device.
 12. A method that utilizes a processor to printan image, the method comprising: selecting, using the processor, displaycontent corresponding to a plurality of print images, which have beenstored in a memory and correspond to print medium sizes different fromeach other, from first display content and second display contentaccording to an instruction of a user, wherein the first display contentcorresponds to both of a plurality of first print images, which havebeen stored in the memory and correspond to first print medium sizesdifferent from each other, and a first recommended print settingincluding a print medium size in the first print sizes, and the seconddisplay content corresponds to both of a plurality of second printimages, which have been stored in the memory and correspond to secondprint medium sizes different from each other, and a second recommendedprint setting including a print medium size in the second print mediumsizes; controlling, using the processor, a display device to display, ofthe first recommended print setting and the second recommended printsetting, a recommended print setting corresponding to the displaycontent selected from the first display content and the second displaycontent; acquiring, using the processor, a print image, among theplurality of print images corresponding to the print medium sizesdifferent from each other, corresponding to the selected display contentand a print medium size which is designated by a user in the printmedium sizes after the recommended print setting is displayed; andcontrolling a printing device to print the acquired image.
 13. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program for causing acomputer to execute: selecting display content corresponding to aplurality of print images, which have been stored in a memory andcorrespond to print medium sizes different from each other, from firstdisplay content and second display content according to an instructionof a user, wherein the first display content corresponds to both of aplurality of first print images, which have been stored in the memoryand correspond to first print medium sizes different from each other,and a first recommended print setting including a print medium size inthe first print sizes, and the second display content corresponds toboth of a plurality of second print images, which have been stored inthe memory and correspond to second print medium sizes different fromeach other, and a second recommended print setting including a printmedium size in the second print medium sizes; controlling a displaydevice to display, of the first recommended print setting and the secondrecommended print setting, a recommended print setting corresponding tothe display content selected from the first display content and thesecond display content; acquiring a print image, among the plurality ofprint images corresponding to the print medium sizes different from eachother, corresponding to the selected display content and a print mediumsize which is designated by a user in the print medium sizes after therecommended print setting is displayed; and controlling a printingdevice to print the acquired image.
 14. A system comprising: a selectionunit configured to select display content corresponding to a pluralityof print images which have been stored in a web server and correspond toprint medium sizes different from each other, from first display contentand second display content according to an instruction of a user,wherein the first display content corresponds to both of a plurality offirst print images which have been stored in the web server andcorrespond to first print medium sizes different from each other, and afirst recommended print setting including a print medium size in thefirst print medium sizes, and the second display content corresponds toboth of a plurality of second print images which have been stored in theweb server and correspond to second print medium sizes different fromeach other, and a second recommended print setting including a printmedium size in the second print medium sizes; a display unit configuredto display, of the first recommended print setting and the secondrecommended print setting, a recommended print setting corresponding tothe display content selected from the first display content and thesecond display content by the selecting unit; and a print unitconfigured to acquire a print image, among the plurality of print imagescorresponding to the print medium sizes different from each other,corresponding to the selected display content and a print medium sizewhich is designated by a user in the print medium sizes after therecommended print setting is displayed by the display unit, and to printthe acquired print image.
 15. The system according to claim 14, whereinthe web server including the first display content and the seconddisplay content, a relay server, and a printing device is included inthe system, and wherein the printing device comprises the selectionunit, the display unit, and the print unit.
 16. The system according toclaim 15, wherein the relay server extracts first content correspondingto the first display content and second content corresponding to thesecond display content from a plurality of contents included in the webserver, and the selection unit of the printing device selects thedisplay content from the first display content corresponding to theextracted first content and the second display content corresponding tothe extracted second content.
 17. The system according to claim 16,wherein the relay server extracts the first content and the secondcontent, from the plurality of contents included in the web server,based on time information corresponding to each of the plurality ofcontents.
 18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the timeinformation includes expiration date information corresponding to eachof the plurality of contents, and in a case where date information ofthe relay server satisfies the expiration date information correspondingto each of the first content and the second content, the relay serverextracts the first content and the second content, from the plurality ofcontents included in the web server.